Katelyn and her friends were all too familiar with this trick—it was a smoke bomb designed to blind them.

Caught off guard, they were engulfed by the thick, stinging smoke, coughing uncontrollably as their eyes burned and watered.

Samuel wanted to dash out of the room with his gun drawn, but the smoke grew denser by the second, trapping him inside.

Although they were standing close to each other, the thick white smoke swallowed them whole, making it impossible to see where anyone else was.

Katelyn quickly lifted her sleeves over her face, desperate to filter out the gas and breathe a little more easily.

But it was useless. Their harsh coughing echoed through the room, cutting through the heavy, stinging air.

Suddenly, Katelyn felt a hard shove from someone.

Before she could gather her thoughts, Vincent’s cold voice cut through the chaos: “Open the windows!”

As soon as they were opened, fresh air rushed in, but the smoke lingered for nearly ten more minutes before it finally cleared.

Katelyn continued coughing uncontrollably, clutching her chest. The smoke bomb had landed right at her feet, and the relentless coughing left her lungs burning.

Then, they all noticed something truly shocking.

Alfy was gone. The realization hit them all at once.

“She must’ve slipped out when the smoke bomb went off,” Jaxen muttered, his expression darkening as he cursed under his breath. “I never imagined she’d have anyone helping her.”

α ?hαρ gl?v．

Katelyn’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as she carefully picked up the smoke bomb using a piece of paper.

“This one seems specially designed,” she said. “Its strength and effect are far more powerful than the ones we’ve encountered before.”

Vincent studied the intricate carvings and the production model closely.

“Regular people can’t get their hands on weapons this advanced. She must have a stronger backing—someone willing to go to great lengths to protect her,” Vincent said casually.

Sitting on the sofa, Jaxen sighed in frustration. “This is all my fault. I didn’t think this could happen. As a skilled hacker, she must have joined some group to work with them.”

Alfy’s disappearance wasn’t what truly bothered them. There was something even more important—everyone realized that the clues about TS had completely vanished.

“Let’s first look into who did this. What if they’re not her allies but another group trying to capture TS?” Katelyn lowered her gaze, gripping the smoke bomb tightly. “Now that everyone knows she’s TS’s apprentice, she could be in even more danger,” she added after a brief pause.

Katelyn’s theory made a lot of sense.

Vincent gave Samuel a serious look and said, “Look into this right away. They acted in broad daylight, so the hallway’s surveillance cameras must have caught something.”

Hearing this, Jaxen quickly grabbed a laptop and rolled up his sleeves, saying, “Leave it to me. I’ll figure out who’s behind this.”

As he spoke, his fingers flew across the keyboard, eyes fixed on the screen.

Katelyn couldn’t take her eyes off the laptop screen. Their opponents had acted swiftly and were armed with advanced weapons.

They had managed to move freely in a high-security hospital and even abduct someone.

All of this showed their remarkable bravery and efficiency.

She was now more convinced that this was a coordinated effort involving multiple people.

Otherwise, the origin of the new weapon would remain a mystery.

Jaxen’s expression turned serious, and a deep worry settled in his mind.

He found himself hoping that Alfy had been rescued by her allies, rather than what Katelyn suspected.

If it were the latter, it would be a nightmare!

The thought of such a sweet girl falling into the hands of ruthless criminals…

Jaxen couldn’t bring himself to imagine it any further. Maybe he hadn’t fully grasped just how worried he was about Alfy.

Jaxen’s fingers flew over the keyboard, the rapid clacking filling the room.

Then, his face shifted, and with a burst of frustration, he slammed his fist on the keys.

“They hacked all the surveillance systems ahead of time. Every recording is just a blank screen! They didn’t just target the hospital’s internal systems; even the cameras at the front and back entrances were compromised.”

Katelyn’s heart sank instantly.

She was determined to keep Alfy safe.

Katelyn grabbed her phone and set an alarm for one minute. When it went off, she acted as though she were answering a call.

“Do you need those designs now? Alright, I’ll send them to you soon.”

Pretending to be on the phone, Katelyn hurried out of the hospital room. For original chapters go to find·novel·net

She had brought two laptops with her.

Once back in her room, she searched for the second laptop but suddenly remembered the note she had been gripping tightly in her hand.

As she opened it, she was taken aback by the message written on it.

.

.

.